Paradisian Culture
General Cultural Information The average Paradisian is thought of as a harsh but fair person. Someone who works hard, plays hard, and expects to see justice done one way or another. They are fiercely patriotic and independent, an attitude which is regularly strengthened by the frequency of sieges they endure. If there is a job to do then most will do it to the best of their abilities- some for the sake of a personal code of honor or ethics, but more because everyone around that Paradisian worker is relying on him or her to do that job well. This is doubly true if the position is related to labor, engineering, and Enforcer work. If a laborer does a shoddy job, how many buildings might be at risk? If an engineer isn't attentive and thorough from the time they clock in to the time they clock out, how many valuable or dangerous machines might fall apart? If an Enforcer is not alert at all hours, how many crimes might they miss? The extremes of these questions aren't as unlikely as some believe, and could easily spell ruination for the City. Everyone is counting on the person next to them, the people above them, and the people below them. This doesn't just apply to critical jobs, but to non-critical ones as well. If a waiter wants a tip, he needs to provide quality customer service. If a blackjack dealer wants customers to flock to his table, he has to play a mostly fair game. It all relies on a great deal of common sense and a strong work ethic, instilled by previous generations and the realities of the modern age. Of course, such dedication can easily lead to people getting too caught up in their work and suffering psychological burn out, which can be problematic if an individual only has one or two valuable trade skills or few hobbies. Those in positions of power and influence encourage the common citizenry to play as hard as they work to help offset these drawbacks, but that- arguably- creates a drawback in and of itself. Many Paradisians develop a firm love of rough games and sports, and while it would be inaccurate to call them bloodthirsty there is a tendency to demand harsher punishments for convicted felons than might be seen in other countries. Most families own at least one weapon per adult family member and pay for basic training and drilling in their use, for the inevitable assault by external forces. Affording these niceties is made possible by the City's taxation laws; the common folk do not pay any taxes, only rent, utilities, and protection money to those factions which claim dominance over their neighborhoods. The factions in turn are the only ones who pay taxes, based on their income, to the Enforcers, which can then be spent as is necessary. Business The business of Paradise City is business. In general, employment opportunities will fall into one of three categories- Upkeepers, Strongarms, or Entertainers. The Upkeepers are the ones who keep the City maintained, or work for the Reclamators, factory workers, or some other job involving engineering or construction, which accounts for some 30% of the City's workforce. The Strongarms are those who keep the City safe, such as Freelancers and Enforcers and various private security forces, which make up roughly 20% of the workforce. The final 50% are Entertainers, the people who handle all the things that keep people content with life- everything from Athletes to Zookeepers- along with service industry personnel and managers. Tax write-offs given to factions which provide additional job opportunities above and beyond what is necessary see that a very small fraction of the City's potential working class is unemployed. Paradise City's powerful networking abilities from Fort Lerran make them one of the major hubs for broadcasting and media communications on Scylla, allowing for all sorts of affordable TV and radio and PNet media to reach the rest of the planet. All of these elements have created a high demand for skilled and unskilled workers alike, of almost all stripes- engineers, technicians, laborers, muscle, actors, musicians, civil servants, Freelancers; there is an almost overabundance of work waiting in Paradise City if one bothers to look. Holiday Events Paradise City recognizes several major holidays, including Year's End Cheer, Haljr Independence Day, Worker's Week, Nature Day, Mardi Gras, and All Saint's Eve. Year's End Cheer is celebrated from Day 360 of the current year to Day 1 of the following year, a full week of gift-giving, feasting, gathering with family members, and prayers for a prosperous and pleasant new year. Originally a Universalian holiday for prayers, fasting, and inner reflection, in Paradise City it is effectively a week-long Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hannukah/New Year's Eve festival. School is let out for a week, most people have Day 366 off for the Paradise City Cheer Parade (a grand spectacle involving huge balloons, floats, and throwing of confetti), and media celebrities raining treats on crowds below from carefully guided hot air balloons. Haljr Independence Day does not actually celebrate the independence of Telo-Haljr, but rather of Paradise City itself- from the grips of extinction. Every year on Day 223, most non-essential workers take the day off and the City holds a grand display of fireworks, Enforcer parades, and cheap food to celebrate the fact that they have never once knuckled under or surrendered, even when faced with certain destruction. School only lasts for about three hours on Independence Day. Worker's Week is a week-long celebration beginning on Day 200 for the men, women, and other who endlessly toil and risk their lives operating heavy, dangerous, or impossibly sophisticated machinery and technology for the continued survival and prosperity of Paradise City. School children are often made to do reports on the wonders of science and magic around them for class projects. Pay rates for physical laborers and engineers are doubled for the duration of the week. Many try to pull overtime. Nature Day is not unlike Arbor Day back on Earth in the now mythical "United States". Just before Day 98, Druids from Deilamar Park and the Prickleburr Swamp come and sell various exotic and simple plants, which families buy for their households or yard- this serves as a means of not only prettying up the City but also ensuring that green leafy things are around to keep changing carbon dioxide into oxygen. And, as a side bonus for the various religious affiliations, it aggravates the living daylights out of those who serve the Corruptions. Mardi Gras takes its name directly from the Earth celebration, again from the States. Just like on Earth, it draws in enormous amounts of tourism- bead sales go up enormously. The main difference is that Mardi Gras in Paradise City lasts for about two weeks, from Day 160 to Day 174. The Enforcer CDA tends to despise the event, because it means most of them will end up pulling double-shifts. The two week party is kept strictly in the Eden Bazaar. Finally, All Saint's Eve, which could be described as a cross between Ash Wednesday and Halloween, taking place on Day 287. Though ostensibly a Universalian holiday (since they have a lot more saints than their counterparts) the saints of most Pagan religions are likewise acknowledged and given respect. School is cancelled for the day, most people take the day off, and the daylight hours are spent praying or relaxing. From about 6 PM to 9 PM however, children are accompanied by their parents in trick-or-treating. Costumes are, obviously, mandatory. Entertainment Media Paradise City's broadcasting encompasses a wide range of programs and events, from the mundane to the extreme. From cartoons to cooking to DIY home improvement to sports, every nation that acts in good faith with the City has access to all the same programming they do. Mundane Media is, well, exactly what it says on the tin. Simpler shows that most people can agree are suitable for viewers of all ages. Examples including The Adamantium Chef (Iron Chef + Julia Child, starring a Warbot), The Morning Show with Jacqueline Hays (international news, weather reports), Seisoumon (magical heavenly creatures which help chosen children battle evil and save the day), Ryuusei Senshi (most popular giant super robot show for the last fifty years), and the John-Boy and Queznak Discussion Hour (if Jerry Springer was a swamp redneck and talked politics and social commentary with an Illithid version of Eddie Izzard). Sports is one of the most basic and universal forms of entertainment. Paradise City boasts four significantly sized all-purpose arenas for sporting events of all sorts. Two on the ground, one underwater just off the coast, and one magically airborne to provide variety. These allow for simpler sports- such as football/soccer, rugby, baseball, basketball, and tennis- to more extreme sports such as Xtreme Monster Rugby (teams are composed of undead, outsiders, monsters, heavily armored humanoids, and so forth), Zero-G Lacrosse (the sticks are longer, and the field is huge), Broken-Nose-Ball (basically team wall-ball, only the ball has no sense of gravity and a mass of about 20 kilograms), and Jousting Water Polo (lot like normal polo, but played underwater while riding specially trained sea monsters). The more dangerous sports require doctors and clerics close at hand for inevitable accidents, but their popularity has seen that most countries send teams of athletes to compete in yearly events. Racing is technically a sport, but racing in Paradise City is a very non-traditional affair. While normal races exist, most competitors are made to race on special tracks in or out of the city made just for certain kinds of vehicles and animals. The remnant of a floating highway- Route 626- which floats just beyond the City's borderwall with Terria in one of the 'safer' sections is a popular track for low-altitude hover or jump craft. Route 626 is broken into many pieces, but easily reconfigured into new tracks, and makes for an incredible display of death-defying leaps by professional racers; what makes it such a dangerous sport is that a crash means death or landing in the middle of packs of hungry monsters and zombies. There is also the Drybelly Run, a hugely popular cross-continent race which starts in the City and goes to Rail City at the far edge of Terria, then all the way out to the Glowton Republic, and then back to the City. The Run- which is a trek of roughly 17,000 miles- is popular for the fact that the racers can and will often try to sabotage and fight each other, creating all sorts of character conflict and pitched battles for the lead. The Coliseum hosts the City's more actively violent bloodsports. Convicted felons, professional fighters, Freelancers, and other would-be champions come from across the Trifecta to test their skill and strength against whatever the arena-masters can come up with. Sometimes that means battling against packs of undead, or an otyugh, perhaps even other competitors. Sometimes it means running a gamut of incredible or absurd, but always dangerous, obstacle courses (like Takeshi's Castle, only the traps might be lethal). Fixing fights is all but impossible, as the arena-masters are directly under Enforcer supervision. Finally, there is the Apocalypse Tower; the most gruesome and nail-bitingly intense program in the City's repertoire. It is violent in the extreme, to the point where several groups have tried to have it taken off the air, calling it legalized gore-porn. But it generates far too much money, being pay-per-view only, to be removed. Bomb-collared convicts, thrill-seekers, desperate people, and bored fools from all the worlds come to try their hands at the Tower- an isolated 100 story skyscraper in the middle of Old Town. Loaded with starved undead, murderous machines, and enraged monsters. The goal is to reach the top floor alive first. There are no rules except not to leave the building until the top has been reached. For the lucky winner, a huge cash prize, or for convicts a full pardon and second chance. It is in no uncertain terms a bloodbath as contestants work with and against each other, developing friendships and pacts and rivalries as they go. It has been hailed many times as the ultimate reality TV show, and the most straightforward and honest ever made. There are no tricks or traps, aside from the occasional rickety elevator or stairwell; only the contestants, their desire to win, and whatever random equipment has been strewn about. Back to Paradise City Back to Main Page